Prof. Dr. Alexey BELYANIN
Alexey Belyanin, Professor of Physics at Texas A&M University, USA, will give a series of four lectures on optics of semiconductor nanostructures, covering both fundamentals and applications in modern optical devices.
Prof. Belyanin obtained his PhD in Physics from the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1995. Prior to joining Physics and Astronomy faculty at Texas A&M University he worked as senior research scientist at the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He coauthored over a hundred papers in refereed journals, served as chair of international conferences, and received a number of research awards. His recent research focused on ultrafast and nonlinear optics of semiconductors and semiconductor nanostructures and physics of optoelectronic devices. Belyanin and collaborators achieved a number of milestones in this field, such as the first Raman injection laser, room-temperature operation of terahertz semiconductor lasers, superfluorescence in electron-hole plasma, and mode locking in quantum cascade lasers.
Lecture 1: Fundamentals of Semiconductor Nanostructures
Time: June 14, 2011, 12:15
Place: Seminar room 2, Helmholtzweg 5, 07743 Jena
We start with basic discussion of the optical properties of semiconductors and semiconductor nanostructures: quantum wells, wires, and dots. We discuss salient features of nanostructures that make them far superior in photonics applications as compared to bulk semiconductors.
Audience: upper level undergraduate students and graduate students majoring in physics and electrical engineering. Pre-requisites: quantum mechanics and electromagnetism
Lecture 2: Quantum Mechanics and Electromagnetism
Time: June 15, 2011, 16:15
Place: Lecture hall 3, Helmholtzweg 3, 07743 Jena
In this lecture we show how one can play with quantum confinement of electrons in nanostructures in order to "design" a medium with desired optical properties and create novel optical devices. Physics and modern development of quantum cascade lasers will be discussed. Then things will start getting nonlinear. We will find out that properly designed quantum-well systems can have giant optical nonlinearities associated with resonant intersubband transitions. These nanostructured nonlinear materials are finding applications in a variety of optoelectronic devices and integrated systems.
Audience: upper level undergraduate students and graduate students majoring in physics and electrical engineering. Pre-requisites: quantum mechanics and electromagnetism
Lecture 3: Nonlinear Dynamics and Mode Locking in Quantum Cascade Lasers
Time: June 20, 2011, 16:15
Place: Seminar room 2, Helmholtzweg 5, 07743 Jena
Quantum cascade lasers boast unique combination of dynamical properties, which sets them apart from all other types of lasers. In this lecture we analyze dynamics and nonlinear interactions of laser modes in quantum cascade lasers and compare with other lasers. We discuss recent efforts to achieve mode locking, generation of frequency combs, and ultrashort pulse generation in quantum cascade lasers.
Audience: upper level undergraduate students and graduate students majoring in physics and electrical engineering. Pre-requisites: quantum mechanics and electromagnetism
Lecture 4: Novel Nanomaterials and Emerging Trends in Optoelectronics
Time: June 21, 2011, 12:15
Place: Seminar room 2, Helmholtzweg 5, 07743 Jena
Here we discuss several emerging fields that have been so far mostly limited to basic research; however in the near future they may become the next big thing in optoelectronics and information technology. They include nanophotonics, graphene, carbon nanotubes, and any combination thereof. In particular, we discuss fundamentals of plasmonics for subwavelength confinement of light. We also show how unusual electronic structure of graphene gives rise to their unique optical properties, which could enable interesting optical quantum devices.
Audience: upper level undergraduate students and graduate students majoring in physics and electrical engineering. Pre-requisites: quantum mechanics and electromagnetism